Combine harvester grain bulk tank unloading system

ABSTRACT

A combine harvester grain bulk tank and grain unloading system includes opposed bulk tank augers and an unloading auger formed in a grain bulk tank of a combine harvester. The bulk tank augers are for receiving and conveying grain through the bulk tank to the unloading auger, and the unloading auger is for receiving grain from the bulk tank augers and conveying grain to a grain unloading spout for grain unloading. A primary drive gear is coupled to the unloading auger and to an input, a secondary drive gear is drivingly coupled to the bulk tank augers, and a clutch is coupled between the primary drive gear and the secondary drive gear, which is movable between an engaged position for transferring power from the input to the unloading auger and to the bulk tank augers, and a disengaged position for isolating the bulk tank augers from the primary drive gear.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to combine harvesters.

More particularly, the present invention relates to grain bulk tanks ofcombine harvesters.

In a further and more specific aspect, the present invention relates tosystems and methods for unloading grain from grain bulk tanks of combineharvesters.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Agriculture is a major industry in the U.S., which is a net exporter offood. As of 2009 there were approximately 2.2 million farms in the U.S.covering an area of approximately 920 million acres. Although in 1800approximately ninety percent of the entire U.S. population was employedin agriculture, present day numbers have dropped to approximately twopercent due largely to the development and implementation of large,automated agricultural equipment, such as combine harvesters, which havereplaced large numbers of farm workers.

The crops grown in the U.S., such as wheat, barley, and rye, are onlypartly edible. While the seeds or grains at the top of each plant areedible and useful for making products such as bread and cereal, the restof the plant, which is known as the chaff, is inedible and has to bediscarded. Before modern-day machines were developed, such as in the1800's, agricultural workers had to harvest crops by carrying out aseries of laborious operations one after another. First they had to cutdown the plants with a long-handled cutting tool such as a scythe. Next,they had to separate the edible grain from the inedible chaff by beatingthe cut stalks in an operation known as threshing. Finally, they had toclean any remaining debris away from the seeds to make them suitable foruse in a mill. All this took a considerable amount of time and laborrequiring large numbers of farm workers. The modern combine harvestercarries out these various operations automatically eliminating the needfor numerous farm workers.

In operation, a combine harvester is driven through a field of a growingcrop, whereby the combine harvester cuts, threshes, and separates thegrain from the chaff using rotating blades, wheels, sieves, andelevators. The grain collects in a tank inside the combine harvester,which is periodically emptied into tractors that drive alongside, whilethe chaff is ejected onto the field from an ejection spout at the backof the combine harvester.

In general, a combine harvester includes a header, a pickup reel, acutter, a threshing drum, sieves, a collection tank, and conveyors, suchas rotating belts and spinning augers. The header gathers the crop, andthe pickup reel pushes the crop down toward the cutter, which cuts thecrop at the base near ground level. A conveyor picks up the cuttingsfrom the cutter, and conveys the cuttings to the threshing drum, whichrotates and threshes the cuttings separating the grains from the chaffto form threshings, namely, the chaff and the separated grains. Aconveyance conveys the threshings along the thresher from an upstreamlocation of thresher to a downstream location of thresher as thethresher rotates and the grains fall through sieves into a collection orgrain bulk tank inside the combine harvester, which is periodicallyemptied, such as through a grain ejection spout into tractors that drivealongside, while a conveyor takes up and conveys the chaff to the chaffejection spout for ejection onto the field. Some combine harvesters havea rotating spreader mechanism that throws the chaff over a wide area,while others have bailers that bail the chaff for later use, such as foranimal bedding.

Most combine harvester bulk tanks utilize an arrangement of bulk tankaugers used to take up and convey grain to an unloading auger, which, inturn, takes up the grain received from the bulk tank augers and appliesthe grain to the grain ejection spout for unloading, such is into anawaiting tractor. The bulk tank augers and the unloading auger aredeactivated during until the grain bulk tank is full or otherwise inneed of emptying. Because the bulk tank and unloading augers workconcurrently during normal operation, they are prone to becoming cloggedwith grain, which can introduce unsafe loads across the bulk tank andunloading augers and corresponding damage to the auger drivetrain, andwhich can lead to costly downtime required to remove the clogs to freethe augers for resumption of normal operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the principle of the invention, a combine harvester grainbulk tank and grain unloading system includes a grain bulk tank of acombine harvester, and opposed first and second bulk tank augers and anunloading auger formed in the grain bulk tank. The first and second bulktank augers are for receiving grain in the grain bulk tank and conveyinggrain through the bulk tank to the unloading auger, and the unloadingauger is for receiving grain from the first and second bulk tank augersand conveying grain received from the first and second bulk tank augersto a grain unloading spout for grain unloading. A primary drive gear iscoupled to the unloading auger and to an input for transferring powerfrom the input to the unloading auger. A secondary drive gear isdrivingly coupled to a first driven gear coupled to the first bulk tankauger, and to a second driven gear coupled to the second bulk tankauger. A clutch is coupled between the primary drive gear and thesecondary drive gear. The clutch is movable between an engaged positionfor transferring power from the primary drive gear to the secondarydrive gear, and a disengaged position isolating the secondary drive gearfrom the primary drive gear. The first and second bulk tank augers arehorizontal, and the unloading auger is vertical. The first bulk tankauger is further parallel with respect to the second bulk tank auger.The primary drive gear, the secondary drive gear, the first and seconddriven gears, and the clutch are located exteriorly of the grain bulktank.

According to the principle of the invention, a combine harvester grainbulk tank and grain unloading system includes a grain bulk tank of acombine harvester, and opposed first and second bulk tank augers and anunloading auger formed in the grain bulk tank. The first and second bulktank augers are for receiving grain in the grain bulk tank and conveyinggrain through the bulk tank to the unloading auger, and the unloadingauger is for receiving grain from the first and second bulk tank augersand conveying grain received from the first and second bulk tank augersto a grain unloading spout for grain unloading. A primary drive gear iscoupled to the unloading auger and to an input for transferring powerfrom the input to the unloading auger. The system further includes asecondary drive gear, a first driven gear coupled to the first bulk tankauger, a second driven gear coupled to the second bulk tank auger, andan endless belt drivingly coupling the second drive gear to the firstand second driven gears. A clutch is coupled between the primary drivegear and the secondary drive gear. The clutch is movable between anengaged position for transferring power from the primary drive gear tothe secondary drive gear, and a disengaged position isolating thesecondary drive gear from the primary drive gear. The first and secondbulk tank augers are horizontal, and the unloading auger is vertical.The first bulk tank auger is parallel with respect to the second bulktank auger. The primary drive gear, the secondary drive gear, the firstand second driven gears, and the clutch are located exteriorly of thegrain bulk tank.

According to the principle of the invention, a combine harvester grainbulk tank and grain unloading system includes a grain bulk tank of acombine harvester, and opposed first and second bulk tank augers and anunloading auger formed in the grain bulk tank. The first and second bulktank augers are for receiving grain in the grain bulk tank and conveyinggrain through the bulk tank to the unloading auger, and the unloadingauger is for receiving grain from the first and second bulk tank augersand conveying grain received from the first and second bulk tank augersto a grain unloading spout for grain unloading. A primary drive gear iscoupled to the unloading auger and to an input, a secondary drive gearis drivingly coupled to the first bulk tank auger and to the second bulktank auger, and a clutch is coupled between the primary drive gear andthe secondary drive gear. The clutch is movable between an engagedposition engaging the primary drive gear to the secondary drive gear fortransferring power from the input to the unloading auger and to thefirst and second bulk tank augers, and a disengaged position disengagingthe primary drive gear from the secondary drive gear for isolating thefirst and second bulk tank augers from the primary drive gear and fromthe input. The first and second bulk tank augers are horizontal, and theunloading auger is vertical. The first bulk tank auger is parallel withrespect to the second bulk tank auger. The primary drive gear, thesecondary drive gear, and the clutch are located exteriorly of the grainbulk tank.

Consistent with the foregoing summary of preferred embodiments, and theensuing detailed description, which are to be taken together, theinvention also contemplates associated apparatus and method embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a highly generalized schematic representation of a combineharvester incorporating a combine harvester grain bulk tank and grainunloading system;

FIG. 2 is a highly generalized representation of a combine harvestergrain bulk tank and grain unloading system constructed and arranged inaccordance with the principle of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a highly generalized top plan view of a combine harvestergrain bulk tank and grain unloading system constructed and arranged inaccordance with the principle of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicatecorresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is firstdirected to FIG. 1 in which there is seen a highly generalized schematicrepresentation of a combine harvester 50 including a header 51, a pickupreel 52, a cutter 53, a conveyer 54 formed between cutter 53 andthresher 55, a combine harvester concave or thresher concave 56operatively positioned underneath thresher 55, sieves 57, a collectiontank 58, and an array of conveyors, such as rotating belts and spinningaugers. In the operation of combine harvester 50 as it is driven througha crop header 51 gathers the crop, and pickup reel 52 pushes the crop tocutter 53, which cuts the crop at the base near ground level to formcrop cuttings or, simply, cuttings. Conveyor 54 picks up the cuttingsfrom cutter 53, and conveys the cuttings to the thresher 55 forthreshing in the normal manner. Thresher 55 rotates and threshes thecuttings along thresher concave 56 separating the grains from the chaffto form threshings, namely, the chaff and the separated grains. Asthresher 55 rotates and threshes the cuttings to form threshings, theseparated grain fall through sieves 57 into collection tank 58 insidecombine harvester 50. An auger or other conveyance takes up the grain incollection tank 58 and delivers the grain the a grain bulk tank 60formed in combine harvester 50, which is periodically emptied through agrain unloading spout 71, such as into tractors that drive alongside,with the use of a grain bulk tank unloading system denoted generally at70 and which is constructed and arranged in accordance with theprinciple of the invention, while a conveyor takes up and conveys thechaff to an ejection spout for ejection onto the field. Grain unloadingspout 71 is considered part of grain bulk tank unloading system 70. Withthe exception of the specific details surrounding grain bulk tankunloading system 70 and its association with grain bulk tank 60 andgrain unloading spout 71, combine harvester 50 is exemplary of a typicalcombine harvester well known in the art, further details of which willreadily occur to the skilled artisan and will not be discussed infurther detail.

According to the principle of the invention, FIG. 2 is a highlygeneralized representation of grain bulk tank 60 and grain bulk tankunloading system 70 constructed and arranged in accordance with theprinciple of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a highly generalized top planview of system 70. Referencing FIGS. 2 and 3, system 70 consists ofopposed bulk tank augers 80 and 81 and an unloading auger 82 formed inbulk tank 60, namely, in volume 60A defined by bulk tank 60. Bulk tankaugers 80 and 81 are for receiving grain in volume 60A of bulk tank 60and conveying grain horizontally through bulk tank 60 in the directiongenerally indicated by arrowed line A to unloading auger 82, andunloading auger 82 is, in turn, for receiving grain from bulk tankaugers 80 and 81 and conveying grain received from bulk tank augers 80and 81 vertically through bulk tank 60 in the direction generallyindicated by arrowed line B in FIG. 2 to grain unloading spout 71 inFIG. 1 for grain unloading in the normal manner.

Bulk tank augers 80 and 81 opposed one another and are the mirror imageof one another, are located on either side of bulk tank 60, are parallelwith respect to each other, are horizontal in volume 60A of bulk tank 60as illustrated, and are identical to one another in every respect. Bulktank augers 80 and 81 are housed in open, protective shrouds 83 and 84,respectively, and are formed about corresponding auger shafts 85 and 86,which, as also illustrated in FIG. 3, concurrently extend outwardlythrough an end 61 of bulk tank 60 to attached driven gears 87 and 88,respectively, which are located exteriorly of bulk tank 60, namely,exteriorly of and alongside end 61 of bulk tank 60. Auger shafts 85 and86 are mounted for rotation to bulk tank 60 in a conventional andwell-known manner for facilitating rotation of bulk tank augers 80 and81 in the normal manner for acting on and conveying grain through volume60A of bulk tank 60 in the direction indicated by arrowed line A tounloading auger 82. Rotation of bulk tank augers 80 and 81 is madethrough the application of power or an input to driven gears 87 and 88of auger shafts 85 and 86, respectively, to rotate driven gears 87 and88. Driven gear 87 is rigidly mounted to auger shaft 85, and auger shaft85 provides a coupling of driven gear 87 to bulk tank auger 80 to impartrotation to bulk tank auger 80 in response to a corresponding inputapplied to driven gear 87 to drive driven gear 87 for rotation. Drivengear 88 is rigidly mounted to auger shaft 86, and auger shaft 86provides a coupling of driven gear 88 to bulk tank auger 81 to impartrotation to bulk tank auger 81 in response to a corresponding inputapplied to driven gear 88 to drive driven gear 88 for rotation.

Unloading auger 82 is located in volume 60A of bulk tank 60 between bulktank augers 80 and 81, and is vertical in volume 60A of bulk tank 60with respect to bulk tank augers 80 and 81, which are horizontal involume 60A of bulk tank 60. Unloading auger 82 is mounted for rotationto bulk tank 60 in a conventional and well-known manner for conveyinggrain received from bulk tank augers 80 and 81 vertically in thedirection generally indicated by arrowed line B in FIG. 2 to grainunloading spout 71 in FIG. 1 for grain unloading in the normal manner.Shrouds 83 and 84 are formed with chutes 90 and 91, which are located oneither side of unloading auger 82. Chute 90 of shroud 83 extends betweenshroud 83 and unloading auger 82 on one side of unloading auger 82, andchute 91 of shroud 84 extends between shroud 84 and unloading auger 82on the opposing side of unloading auger 82. In response to rotation ofbulk tank augers 80 and 81, bulk tank augers 80 and 81 convey grainhorizontally through bulk tank 60 in the direction indicated by arrowedline A to chutes 90 and 91, and the delivered grain to chutes 90 and 91then falls downwardly along chutes 90 and 91 to unloading auger 82 forgrain unloading through grain unloading spout 71 shown in FIG. 1.

Looking to FIG. 3, system 70 incorporates a primary drive gear 100, asecondary drive gear 101, and a clutch 102. Primary drive gear 100,secondary drive gear 101, and clutch 102 are each located exteriorly ofbulk tank 60, namely, exteriorly of, and alongside, end 61 of bulk tank60. Primary drive gear 100 is coupled to unloading auger 82 and to aninput for transferring power from the input to unloading auger 82 todrive unloading auger 82 for rotation. Secondary drive gear 101 isdrivingly coupled to driven gears 87 and 88 coupled to bulk tank augers80 and 81, respectively, for transferring power from an input to drivengears 87 and 88 to drive driven gears 87 and 88 for rotation to, inturn, rotate bulk tank augers 80 and 81. Secondary drive gear 101 isconcurrently drivingly coupled to driven gears 87 and 88 with an endlessdrive belt or roller chain 111, which concurrently encircles andmeshingly interacts with secondary drive gear 101 and driven gears 87and 88 and which transfers power from secondary drive gear 101concurrently to driven gears 87 and 88 so as to drive driven gears 87and 87 for rotation to rotate bulk tank augers 80 and 81 in response torotation of secondary drive gear 101. Because secondary drive gear 101is drivingly coupled to driven gears 87 and 88, driven gears 87 and 88are, in turn, considered drivenly coupled to secondary drive gear 101.

Clutch 102 is coupled between primary drive gear 100 coupled tounloading auger 82 and secondary drive gear 101 drivingly coupled todriven gears 87 and 88. Clutch 102 operates between primary drive gear100 coupled to unloading auger 82 and secondary drive gear 101 drivinglycoupled to driven gears 87 and 88, and is movable between an engagedposition securing primary drive gear 100 to secondary drive gear 101 fortransferring power from primary drive gear 100 to secondary drive gear101, and a disengaged position disengaging primary drive gear 100 fromsecondary drive gear 101 thereby isolating secondary drive gear 101 fromprimary drive gear 100.

With continuing reference to FIG. 3, clutch 102 is entirely conventionaland, for reference purposes, has opposed drive and driven sides 102A and102B. Primary drive gear 100 is coupled between unloading auger 82 anddrive side 102A of clutch 102, and secondary drive gear 101 is coupledbetween driven gears 87 and 88 and driven side 102B of clutch 102. Inparticular, primary drive gear 100 is rigidly affixed to a drive shaft103, which extends between and is concurrently coupled to unloadingauger 82 and to drive side 102A of clutch 102. Secondary drive gear 101is rigidly affixed to a driven shaft 104 that is coupled to drive side102B of clutch 102. Drive shaft 103 is operatively coupled to unloadingauger 82 in a conventional and well-known manner to impart rotation tounloading auger 82 in response to rotation of drive shaft 103. Rotationof unloading auger 82 is made through rotation of drive shaft 103, androtation of drive shaft 103 is made through the application of in inputto primary drive gear 100 to impart rotation to primary drive gear 100.Primary drive gear 100 is rigidly mounted to drive shaft 103, and driveshaft 103 provides a coupling of drive gear 100 to unloading auger 82 toimpart rotation to unloading auger 82 in response to a correspondinginput applied to drive gear 100 to drive the drive gear 100 forrotation. Secondary drive gear 101 is rigidly mounted to driven shaft104, and driven shaft 104 provides a coupling of driven end 102B ofclutch 102 to secondary drive gear 101 to impart rotation to secondarydrive gear 101 in response to an input delivered to driven shaft 104from drive shaft 103 through clutch 102 to impart rotation to drivenshaft 104.

The input applied to primary drive gear 100 to forcibly rotate primarydrive gear 100 is the conventional hydraulic drive system (not shown) ofcombine harvester 50. The hydraulic drive system of combine harvester 50is operatively coupled to primary drive gear 100 with an endless drivebelt or roller chain 110, which conventionally meshingly engages primarydrive gear 100 and which transfers power from the hydraulic drive systemof combine harvester 50 to primary drive gear 100 so as to drive primarydrive gear 100 for rotation to rotate drive shaft 103 to, in turn,impart rotation to unloading auger 82 and to impart rotation tosecondary drive gear 101 in the engaged position of clutch 102.

As explained above, clutch 102 is coupled between primary drive gear 100and secondary drive gear 101, operates between primary drive gear 100and secondary drive gear 101, and is movable between an engaged positionfor securing primary drive gear 100 to secondary drive gear 101 fortransferring power from primary drive gear 100 to secondary drive gear101 to render bulk tank augers 80 and 81 and unloading auger 82concurrently operational, and a disengaged position disengaging primarydrive gear 100 from secondary drive gear 101 thereby isolating secondarydrive gear 101 from primary drive gear 100 disabling bulk tank augers 80and 81 rendering only unloading auger 82 operational. In the engagedposition of clutch 102, clutch 102 concurrently engages and securesdrive shaft 103 and driven shaft 104 so as to rigidly secure drive shaft103 with respect to driven shaft 104 thereby operatively and drivinglycoupling or securing primary drive gear 100 to secondary drive gear 101.In this engaged position of clutch 102 securing primary drive gear 100to secondary drive gear 101, primary drive gear 100 is concurrentlysecured or otherwise engaged to bulk tank and unloading augers 80,81,82and rotation of primary drive gear 100 from an input applied to primarydrive gear 100 from the hydraulic drive system of combine harvester 500via drive belt 110 rotates drive shaft 103 which, in turn, concurrentlydrives unloading auger 82 and secondary drive gear 101, and the drivingcoupling between secondary drive gear 101 and driven gears 87 and 88transfers rotation of secondary drive gear 101 to driven gears 87 and 88imparting rotation to bulk tank augers 80 and 81 for grain conveyance.And so in the engaged position of clutch 102, unloading auger 82 andbulk tank augers 80 and 81 are ON and rotate and operate concurrently,in which bulk tank augers 80 and 81 receive grain in volume 60A of bulktank 60 and convey grain horizontally through bulk tank 60 in thedirection generally indicated by arrowed line A in FIGS. 2 and 3 tounloading auger 82, and unloading auger 82, in turn, receives grain frombulk tank augers 80 and 81 and conveys grain received from bulk tankaugers 80 and 81 vertically through bulk tank 60 in the directiongenerally indicated by arrowed line B in FIG. 2 to grain unloading spout71 in FIG. 1 for grain unloading in the normal manner.

In the disengaged position of clutch 102, clutch 102 disengages orotherwise releases drive shaft 103 disengaging or otherwise decouplingor releasing drive shaft 103 from driven shaft 104 thus disengaging orotherwise decoupling or releasing primary drive gear 100 from secondarydrive gear 101 isolating secondary drive gear 101 from primary drivegear 100. In this disengaged position of clutch 102, rotation of primarydrive gear 100 from an input applied to primary drive gear 100 from thehydraulic drive system of combine harvester 500 via drive belt 110rotates drive shaft 103 which, in turn, drives only unloading auger 82,and the release of drive shaft 103 from driven shaft 104 isolatessecondary drive gear 101 from primary drive gear 100 preventing powertransfer from primary drive gear 100 to secondary drive gear 101securing bulk tank augers 80 and 81 from rotation. And so in thisdisengaged position of clutch 102, primary drive gear 100 is engaged orotherwise secured only to unloading auger 82, bulk tank augers 150 aresecure or otherwise OFF, and unloading auger 82 is ON and continues toconvey grain received from bulk tank augers 80 and 81 vertically throughbulk tank 60 in the direction generally indicated by arrowed line B inFIG. 2 to grain unloading spout 71 in FIG. 1 for grain unloading in thenormal manner until empty.

Consistent with the foregoing discussion, to unload grain from grainbulk tank 60, such as when full, clutch 102 is moved or otherwisesecured into its engaged position securing primary drive gear 100 tosecondary drive gear 101 thereby concurrently securing or engagingprimary drive gear 100 bulk tank augers 80 and 81 and unloading auger82. At this point, the input is applied to primary drive gear 100turning bulk tank augers 80 and 81 and unloading augers ON causing bulktank augers 80 and 81 to convey grain horizontally through bulk tank 60in the direction generally indicated by arrowed line A in FIGS. 2 and 3to unloading auger 82, which receives grain from bulk tank augers 80 and81 and conveys or pushes grain received from bulk tank augers 80 and 81vertically through bulk tank 60 in the direction generally indicated byarrowed line B in FIG. 2 to grain unloading spout 71 in FIG. 1 for grainunloading in the normal manner. There may be an instance where it isdesired to shut off bulk tank augers 80 and 81 to stop the grainunloading process and let unloading auger 82 continue to run until emptyto make it easy to resume operation of bulk tank augers 80 and 81 and toprevent clogging. To do this, clutch 102 is moved from its engagedposition to its disengaged position releasing drive shaft 103 fromdriven shaft 104 thereby isolating secondary drive gear 101 from primarydrive gear 100, which turns bulk tank augers 80 and 81 OFF while leavingunloading auger 82 ON allowing unloading auger 82 to empty. Afterunloading auger 82 is empty and it is desired to turn bulk tank augers80 and 81 back ON to resume grain unloading, clutch 102 may simply bemoved back to its engaged position. Clutch 102 may be mechanicallyoperated, but is preferably hydraulically or electrically operated, suchas from controls located in the cab of combine harvester 50.

The invention has been described above with reference to a preferredembodiment. However, those skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges and modifications may be made to the embodiment withoutdeparting from the nature and scope of the invention. Various changesand modifications to the embodiment herein chosen for purposes ofillustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To theextent that such modifications and variations do not depart from thespirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within thescope thereof.

Having fully described the invention in such clear and concise terms asto enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice the same,the invention claimed is:
 1. A method of unloading grain from a grainbulk tank, comprising the steps of: providing opposed first and secondbulk tank augers and an unloading auger formed in the grain bulk tank,the first and second bulk tank augers are horizontal, the unloadingauger is upright and is between the first and second bulk tank augers,the first bulk tank auger is housed in a first shroud, the second bulktank auger is housed in a second shroud, the first shroud is formed witha first chute, the second shroud is formed with a second chute, thefirst chute extends downwardly from the first shroud to the unloadingauger for delivering grain downwardly from the first bulk tank auger tothe unloading auger, and the second chute extends downwardly from thesecond shroud to the unloading auger for delivering grain downwardlyfrom the second bulk tank auger to the unloading auger; filling the bulktank auger with grain; and concurrently activating the first and secondbulk tank augers and the unloading auger concurrently conveying thegrain in the grain bulk tank horizontally through the first and secondshrouds to the first and second chutes via the first and second bulktank augers, delivering the grain downwardly from the first and secondbulk tank augers to the unloading auger via the first and second chutes,and conveying the grain upright from the gain bulk tank to the grainunloading spout via the unloading auger.
 2. A method of unloading grainfrom a grain bulk tank, comprising the steps of: providing opposed firstand second bulk tank augers and an unloading auger formed in the grainbulk tank, the first and second bulk tank augers are horizontal, theunloading auger is upright and is between the first and second bulk tankaugers, the first bulk tank auger is housed in a first shroud, thesecond bulk tank auger is housed in a second shroud, the first shroud isformed with a first chute, the second shroud is formed with a secondchute, the first chute extends downwardly from the first shroud to theunloading auger for delivering grain downwardly from the first bulk tankauger to the unloading auger, and the second chute extends downwardlyfrom the second shroud to the unloading auger for delivering graindownwardly from the second bulk tank auger to the unloading auger;filling the bulk tank auger with grain; concurrently activating thefirst and second bulk tank augers and the unloading auger concurrentlyconveying grain in the grain bulk tank horizontally through the firstand second shrouds to the first and second chutes via the first andsecond bulk tank augers, delivering the grain downwardly from the firstand second bulk tank augers to the unloading auger via the first andsecond chutes, and conveying the grain upright from the gain bulk tankto the grain unloading spout via the unloading auger; deactivating thefirst and second grain bulk tank augers halting grain delivering to theunloading auger and concurrently continuing activating the unloadingauger; and deactivating the unloading auger when emptied of grain.